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Matching tires on your four-wheel drive vehicle

Four-wheel drive is not just for trucks anymore. More and more four-wheel drive, also called all-wheel drive or AWD, is turning up on some unlikely cars.

Mercedes-Benz calls it 4-matic

Volkswagon states 4-motion

Infinity and BMW use the letter X or XI in their name

Audi uses Quattro

Whatever the moniker, the rule stays the same. Every one of these auto makers recommends that when it's time to replace the tires, all four tires should be replaced at once.

The reason for this is that when the vehicle is rolling in all-wheel drive all four of the tires should be rotating at exactly the same speed. If one new tire (at full tread depth) is introduced to the car, this tire which is actually larger in overall diameter will attempt to rotate slightly slower at less revolutions per minute, than the other three.

This may cause problems with the all-wheel drive unit that will cost far more to repair than the cost of the other three tires. Pay now or pay later. The wise money is on four-of-a-kind.